The 2007 European heat wave affected most of Southern Europe and the Balkans. The phenomenon began affecting Italy and Turkey on 17 June and expanded into Greece and the rest of the Balkans, Hungary and Ukraine on 18 June. The costs of the heat wave were estimated at 2 billion euros.

April 2007

Mainz, Germany recorded an average high of for April, the strongest deviation (+) from the 1989-2018 average of any month. It was also the first calendar month without any measured precipitation since February 1959. A high of was reached on 14 April.

June 2007

Up until 21 June, temperatures generally hovered around in most of the aforementioned countries; however, starting on 22 June, temperatures skyrocketed in this entire region. From this point on Greece, Italy, Albania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania and Turkey experienced record-breaking temperatures in a situation unprecedented even for these nations, typically used to conditions of extreme heat. During the weekend of 23–24 June and on 25 June, temperatures soared to . By 26 June, however, Greece seemed to bear the brunt of the heatwave with temperatures in Athens reaching . The same day, Greece's national power consumption set a new record. Parts of Greece, including neighbourhoods in Athens, suffered from power outages due to high electricity demand and heat damage to the grid. Explosions from overheating transmission towers were implicated in the forest fires ravaging the country. The discomfort was exacerbated by high night-time temperatures, which exceeded averages by up to , and remained at very high levels for more than half of the 2007 summer. More than 200 people were hospitalized for heat-related treatment and 18 people died from heat exhaustion. By 28 June northerly winds started blowing from the northwest and temperatures finally began falling, reaching a cooler . Nonetheless, at a time when everyone believed that the worst part was over, more than 100 fires erupted across the country. Two people perished in the village of Aghia, near the city of

Larissa Larissa (; el, Λάρισα, , ) is the capital and largest city of the Thessaly region in Greece. It is the fifth-most populous city in Greece with a population of 144,651 according to the 2011 census. It is also capital of the Larissa regiona ...

. In the evening of that same day a major wildfire broke out in

Mount Parnitha Mount Parnitha ( ell, Πάρνηθα, , Katharevousa and grc, Πάρνης ''Parnis''/''Parnes''; sometimes Parnetha) is a densely forested mountain range north of Athens, the highest on the peninsula of Attica, with an elevation of 1,413 m, and ...

near Athens. By the dawn of 29 June, a significant part of the popular Parnitha National Park had turned into ashes. Temperatures fell by as much as and the worst heatwave since records began came to an end leaving Greece reeling upon its disastrous effects.

July 2007

By late July, temperatures again rose to more than in Southern Europe, impacting agriculture, electricity supply, forestry and human health. From 21 to 25 July, temperatures reached or exceeded . Over 500 deaths in Hungary were attributed to the heatwave. Major wildfires destroyed large forested areas across the region. Six people (including two Canadair pilots) lost their lives while trying to extinguish the flames in Greece. The country's electricity grid nearly collapsed due to exceptional demand for air conditioning. Hundreds of tourists were stranded on the beaches of

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

, in Southeastern Italy, and had to be rescued by boats. In Bulgaria, six people were killed in the fires that started on 22 July. An estimated 1,530 fires broke out between 20 and 24 July, three times the yearly average. During the largest fire near

Stara Zagora Stara Zagora ( bg, Стара Загора, ) is the sixth-largest city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province. Name The name comes from the Slavic root ''star'' ("old") and the name of the medieva ...

, of pine forest burned for three days, as firefighters were unable to control the fire by conventional means. Strong winds and the extremely dry air quickly sparked new fires. The government requested help from Russia, and

Be-200 The Beriev Be-200 ''Altair'' (russian: Бериев Бе-200) is a utility amphibious aircraft designed and built by the Beriev Aircraft Company. Marketed as being designed for fire fighting, search and rescue, maritime patrol, cargo, and pass ...

amphibious water bombers finally managed to contain the blaze near Stara Zagora.

August 2007

In the beginning of August, the Dalmatian coast in Croatia was hit by severe fires, especially in the surroundings of Dubrovnik.

References

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * *

External links

Central/Eastern Europe: Heat Wave - Jul 2007
on ReliefWeb {{List of heat waves, state=autocollapse European heat wave European heat wave, 2007 June 2007 events in Europe July 2007 events in Europe Heat waves in Europe